


A Bond Stronger Than Blood

by Trey



Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Marineford Arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 16:31:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13861692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trey/pseuds/Trey
Summary: A revolutionary, who has lost his past, meets the two most important people from his forgotten life. And even though he might not remember them, they certainly have not forgotten him. A brotherly bond like they share - a bond stronger than blood - cannot be broken by something as simple as lost memories. But maybe, just maybe, such a bond can restore what was lost and help to prevent a tragedy.





	1. The Angry Brother

Ace was walking through the streets of the town the Moby Dick had anchored in just a few hours ago. After they had secured the ship in the harbour Ace had made sure that every member of his division knew of and would remember their duties and not forget them over drinking themselves into a stupor, he had taken off to explore this summer island by himself. Feeling the hot sun on his skin made him smile. Even though he did not get cold because of his powers, he still loved the warms that came with the summer sun – always had and always would. As a kid he had hated winter, hated being cold and freezing. Even more he had hated seeing his brothers cold. At least he himself would never have to worry about it. And his one, still living brother would hopefully be able to take care of himself – or at least the crew he probably was forming right now, since he should have started his own adventure a week ago, could.  
He grinned, imagining what Luffy’s crew would be like. They would probably be just as crazy as his brother – they would have to be. Otherwise they would go crazy shortly after joining Luffy. Ace imagined that Luffy was out there somewhere in East Blue and getting into some kind of trouble. He was already excited for when his brother would finally come to the Grand Line and Ace would see him again. He didn’t doubt that Luffy would become a famous pirate someday, never had. However, he did doubt that Luffy would ever be feared. It simply seemed impossible, that someone would be afraid of that bundle of energy that seemed to make new friends wherever it went. Even if those friends did not want to be friends with him – as it had been the case for Ace and Sabo.  
Ace’s smile faltered, while he manoeuvred through the streets, never letting his goal out of sights: The forest, that he saw rising up on the mountain behind the town. Thinking about Sabo still hurt, even after all this time – it must be nearly ten years now since Sabo’s death. He shook his head, shaking the sad thoughts away. Today was supposed to be a day he could simply relax and enjoy the quite of being by himself, something he never was on the Moby Dick. And he couldn’t change what happened to Sabo either way, so there was no use in beating himself up about it.  
He made his way through a small alley, choosing to stay away from the big streets to avoid trouble, when he heard some big commotion to his right. His first instinct was to ignore it – if he followed the noise he was sure to find the trouble he was trying to avoid – but somehow, he found himself following it nonetheless. He couldn’t explain, why he was drawn this strongly to this particular riot – he would not deny that he had a tendency to be attracted to trouble, but that was mostly because he had fun getting into trouble. Today, however, he hadn’t been in the mood for trouble and then he was normally quite capable of avoiding it.  
He entered a market place – or at least it had been a market place. Most of the booths were destroyed and the owners had left their goods wherever they had fallen to flee the square and get themselves to safety. Some had remained at the sides and in the alleys leading up to the market place, watching the fight taking place. Ace pushed through them to get a good view. Some people made rude comments at him for pushing them out of the way, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to see who was fighting – after all it might be, that whoever was fighting there was also a member of Whitebeards crew and needed his help.  
But he did not recognise the fighters. Around thirty marine soldiers lay unconscious on the ground and only two fighter were left standing: One fighter was a marine, that hold a big axe with both his hands. He swung it with surprisingly high speed and used it to attack the other fighter. The sight of him made Ace’s stomach clench. Ace could only see the backside of the fighter but he reminded him a lot of Sabo. He looked like an older version of him. He was wearing a black top head with blue googles on it. Blond hear peered out under the hat to the nape of the fighter’s neck. He wore a black coat instead of the blue one Sabo used to wear, but it was a similar style. It was torn apart on his right shoulder and dark red blood seeped out where his flesh was visible. His right arm hung useless at his side, while his left hand clenched around a long staff that the fighter used as his weapon.  
When the marine attacked again, the man with the top head jumped back and blocked the attack with his staff. However, it was obvious that he wasn’t up to his full potential anymore – probably because his right arm was heavily damaged. Ace guessed that it was his good arm, since he must have put up quite a fight to defeat all the other marines that were sprawled across the square. But now he was barely able to ward of the attacks of his opponent, much less attack himself. His defeat was only a question of time and the marine knew it, according to the grim grin he wore.  
“I’m going to kill you now, you bloody revolutionary!”, he exclaimed.  
So the other guy was a revolutionary. Ace would have guessed him to be a fellow pirate. Not that it mattered – the Whitebeards had no beef with the revolutionaries and if an enemy pirate crew would have been on this island, Ace would have been informed about it before leaving ship.  
“We will see about that”, the Sabo doppelganger grunted back. His voice sounded determined, but Ace could also here the exhaustion.  
In the moment the marine swung his axe again, Ace made a decision. The Sabo twin raised his staff to ward off the axe again, but the expected impact never came. Instead the marine stumbled back, holding his stomach, where Ace had hit him with a ball of fire. He stared at Ace in surprise, while Ace ventured further onto the square to the two fighters. He didn’t look at the doppelganger for now. There would be time for that after he dealt with the marine.  
“Fire Fist Ace”, he exclaimed unbelieving. “What are you doing, helping a revolutionary?”  
Ace just shrugged.  
“I just thought it would be unfair, to let one guy have all the fun”.  
The marine made a disgusted sound.  
“Well, then I will just have to defeat you both. That will definitely get me a promotion”.  
“You can try”, was Ace’s only answer.  
He let flames play around his fingers, waiting for the marine to make the first move. When the axe swung for him, Ace sidestepped it and when it impacted on the ground with a metallic clunk, he took hold of the handle. It was made of wood and it took only a second for Ace to turn it into ash. The head of the axe fell useless to the ground.  
“Still want to fight?”, he taunted his opponent, who then attacked, trying to beat Ace with his bare fists. Ace could only laugh, as he turned his body into flames where the marines fist would have hit him. Instead he just hit flames and burned his hand in the process.  
The marine hissed in pain and stared at Ace in shock. It was obvious that he was a good fighter but had never fought against someone, who had eaten a Logia-class Devil Fruit before. And, therefore, he was no opponent for Ace. Since he was in no mood for games, he simply sent a blast of fire at the marine, making him fly into one of the few booths that was still standing – up to that moment. He didn’t stand up again.  
And now Ace turned around to get a good look at this Sabo doppelganger. He was leaning onto his staff and breathing heavily. His staff was probably the only reason he was still standing upright. He looked Ace in the eyes and Ace felt like he couldn’t breathe. The man was around the same age as Ace was and even though the last time Ace had seen Sabo was nearly ten years ago, he was sure that this was not merely a doppelganger but Sabo – the one and only. Even though he should be dead.  
Blond hair framed a face that Ace would always recognise – even after all this time. The only thing, he had not expected, was the burn scar covering a good part of the left half of his face. Ace couldn’t do anything, to shocked by who stood in front of him. Sabo, however, did not react to Ace’s presence at all. He acted like Ace was a stranger.  
“Thanks, mate”, was all he said. “Really appreciate your help”.  
How could Sabo act like that? What had Ace done to deserve this? First Sabo led him and Luffy believe, that Sabo was dead for years and now he acted like he didn’t even know Ace? And with that all the shock was gone, exchanged for anger. How could Sabo do that to them?  
“I’ll be off then”, Sabo said after a while when Ace still hadn’t answered.  
And then Sabo turned around and started to leave. Just like that! Ace could not believe it.  
“Where do you think you are going?”, Ace called after him, the anger only to evident in his voice.  
Sabo turned around.  
“I was going to leave and get back to doing what I came here to do”.  
Flames licked at Ace’s hands as he got angrier and angrier.  
“So, you’re going to leave, just like that?”  
“Sure. Like I said I appreciate your help, but it is not like I asked you for it or owe you anything”.  
Ace laughed. There was no humour in his laugh.  
“You don’t feel like you owe me at least an explanation?”  
“I wouldn’t know for what”, was Sabo’s answer.  
And then Ace could no longer contain his anger. His fist collided with Sabo’s face. He felt the impact and the bones of Sabo’s face against his fist. No flames surrounded his fingers, since he did not want to harm Sabo in any way, that would scar him even further. He was after all still his brother – would always be his brother. No matter what he did.  
Sabo stumbled back, lost the grip on his staff and fell backwards on the paved ground.  
For a few moments none of them moved. Than Sabo sat up, using his unharmed, left arm to support his upper body and spat blood onto the ground.  
“What the hell?!”, he exclaimed. “What is your problem?”  
“You’re my problem, Sabo!”, Ace grunted through closed teeth.  
Sabo’s hole body seemed to freeze at those words.  
“Where do you know that name from?”, he wanted to know.  
“Don’t act stupid”, was all Ace said. “And you’re lucky you’re already hurt quite badly or I wouldn’t have been this nice”.  
That made Sabo stand up.  
“Really? Well then, don’t hold back on my account”.  
Ace shook his head.  
“You can barely stand straight. I’m not going to beat you up, when you’re going to faint any second”.  
“Didn’t seem to stop you just now”.  
Ace shrugged.  
“You had it coming”.  
Sabo clutched his staff with his left hand.  
“if you’re not going to fight me, that’s too bad for you. Because you just hit me and I’m not going to let that rest so easily”.  
Ace lifted one eyebrow.  
“Are you really that stupid?”  
Sabo answered by attacking Ace. His staff would have hit Ace square across his face, but he caught it with his right hand. Sabo must be really exhausted, if his attack was this weak. Sabo let go of his staff, when Ace continued to hold it and hit Ace with his bare fist. His fist went right through Ace, but Ace made sure that he didn’t get burned by Ace’s flames.  
“Fight me”, Sabo exclaimed again, but still Ace didn’t move, while Sabo continued to hit him – or hit through him. It continued one for a while, then Sabo stopped. Ace was just about to ask why he already gave up, when Sabo simply fell over. Ace caught him before he hit the ground. The fight took quite a toll on him.  
Ace picked Sabo up and put him over his shoulder. Then he went back where he came from. Back to the Moby Dick, where the nurses could have a look at Sabo’s wounds. 

 

Sabo woke up in a room he did not recognise. It seemed to be a hospital ward. A row of beds was lined up on both sides of the room, with enough space in between for people to walk through. Except for his bed none were occupied at the moment. Sabo pushed himself upwards with his right arm. Hot pain shot through his arm up to his shoulder and he sank back onto his pillow, before he was even halfway upwards.  
Now he remembered his fight with the marines and how that one guy with the axe had gotten lucky and struck Sabo at his shoulder. He would probably not be able to use it for quite some time. He cursed. He needed his right arm to fight. Koala wouldn’t let him go on any mission as long as he couldn’t use it. But Koala wasn’t here. Where was she? And where was he?  
He remembered that he and Koala had split up before the marine soldiers had attacked. She had gone to spy on this corrupt politician, who used his power in this city to oppress the poorer people in this town. He even had gone as far as to sell some of these people as slaves, telling them it was the only way to pay of their debt and saving their family.  
Sabo had gone to find those of the marine soldiers on this island, who helped the politician. And he had found them and fought them. That was, when he was hurt. When he was nearly defeated, because of one little mistake. But then this strange guy showed up. He only wore black shorts, an orange cowboy hat and a necklace of red beads. The tattoo on his back indicated that he was a Whitebeard and he could turn his body into fire. Sabo remembered that the guy defeated the last marine, but when Sabo had wanted to leave to find Koala, he had hit him. Sabo had no idea, what the problem of this guy was, but he had known Sabo’s name – probably heard it somewhere because of Sabo’s involvement with the revolutionaries – and when he hit Sabo, Sabo had gotten angry, really angry. He hadn’t been this angry for a long time. To be exact, he hadn’t been this angry as long as he could remember. That was why he couldn’t stop himself and attacked the Whitebeard pirate, even though he knew he had no chance to begin with as hurt as he was.  
That was the last thing he remembered. What happened after that?  
“Oh, you’re awake”, a woman in white clothing – a nurse, apparently – said as she entered the room. “You were pretty beaten up when Ace brought you here”.  
Ace? Who was Ace?  
“Where am I?”, Sabo asked.  
“On the Moby Dick”, she explained with a gentle smile.  
The Moby Dick was Whitebeards ship. That meant that Ace was the strange fire guy. Why did he take Sabo with him? He didn’t appear to be a captive.  
“How long was I out?”  
Koala must already be looking for him.  
“A whole day”, she answered. “Those wounds took quite a toll on you. You should stay in bed for a few days, so you don’t worsen your wounds”.  
Sabo sat up, making sure he didn’t put any weight on his right arm. He felt like every muscle hurt, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t ignore. He didn’t have time to wait around and he definitely didn’t want to worry Koala any longer than necessary.  
“You really shouldn’t get up, yet”, the nurse said disapproving.  
“I’m sorry”, Sabo smiled at her, “but I don’t have time to wait any longer. I have to get going. There are people waiting for me”.  
“Well, they’ll have to keep waiting”, another voice said.  
It was the fire guy – Ace – who had just entered the room.  
“Yeah?”, Sabo asked, the challenge in his voice obvious, “I’m leaving. What are you going to do about it?”  
A grim grin settled on Ace’s face.  
“I’ll stop you. And we both know, who’s going to win right now”.  
Sabo made a face, because he knew Ace was right – even if he didn’t like it. But he wasn’t going to tell Ace that.  
“What is your deal?”, he asked instead. “Like I already said, I’m thankful for your help, but I really have other things to do”.  
“Can’t I be worried about my brother?”, Ace replied. “Even if he disappears for nearly _ten_ years, making me and Luffy believe him to be dead, and then acts like he doesn’t even know me?”  
Sabo stared at him. He couldn’t say anything. He just stared. This guy really knew him? From _before_? From the first years of his life Sabo didn’t remember? He said they were brothers. How was that even possible? They didn’t look anything alike. Sabo had come to terms with not remembering a long time ago. He had accepted it, but right in this moment he wished for nothing more than for his memories to come back. He wanted to know, if this guy spoke the truth. But why should he lie? And how would he even know that his lies would work? That Sabo didn’t remember anything up to his twelfths year of life? He had always made sure, that nobody knew except a few trusted friends, who would never tell anyone or use it against him.  
“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”  
Sabo shook his head slowly, trying to clear his head.  
“Ace, go easy on him. He just woke up and his hurt badly”, the nurse said but both men ignored her, staring at each other.  
“You know me?”, Sabo said finally.  
Irritation appeared on Ace’s face.  
“Don’t act as if you don’t know me”.  
Again, Sabo shook his head.  
“ _But I don’t!_ ”, he cried out.  
“I don’t know why you didn’t come back, sent us a letter or gave us any sign that you’re still alive or why you’re acting like this right now, but I _don’t care._ I still won’t let you go. Not until you’re healed and you explain yourself”.  
He was determined, Sabo could see that. And hearing how much passion this man had, how obviously he cared about Sabo, Sabo wished he would remember him.  
“I don’t remember anything that happened, before I got this”, Sabo whispered, pointing at his most prominent scar, covering the left half of his face.  
And just like this all fire seemed to leave Ace – even though it couldn’t since he was made of fire. Now it was his time to stare unbelievingly at Sabo, not saying a word.  
“I’m sorry. I wish I would remember you. I wish I would remember this Luffy. But _I don’t._ And I don’t think I ever will”.  
“How could you?”  
Ace’s voice was reproachful and – more than anything – hurt. Sabo couldn’t look him in the eyes.  
“It’s not like I had a choice in this matter”.  
Ace gave him the feeling, that he had done something terrible. Something unforgivable.  
Sabo sad on his bed and Ace stood in front of him and none of them spoke a word. Time went on but still they didn’t speak, didn’t move. Sabo didn’t know how to act. Ace was a stranger for him, but he was so much more to Ace.  
“We are brothers?”, he finally asked, risking a look at Ace. He looked hurt and confused.  
“Not by blood”, he explained. No wonder they looked nothing alike. “But by choice. You, me and Luffy. We had nobody else but each other. And we decided we would be brothers”.  
Now Ace smiled. It was a small, sad smile filled with nostalgia.  
“What happened?”, Sabo asked, indicating at his scar. He knew a Celestial Dragon shot his boat down. But he didn’t know how it came to this.  
“You wanted to be free”, Ace explained. “You always wanted to be free. Your parents were nobles but they didn’t care about you and you just wanted to get away. Originally, we wanted to set sail when we turned seventeen – together – but your parents took you away and you couldn’t stand it, so you ran away and set sail earlier. And then you were shot down by a Celestial Dragon. We thought you died. Thought we would never see you again. Luffy nearly broke because of it”.  
Luffy. Sabo’s other brother. He still couldn’t believe he had brothers. Brothers who mourned him. When he had woken up on Dragon’s ship he had felt such hate for that island, he couldn’t imagine there was anything left worth returning to. Apparently, he had been wrong.  
“I’m sorry. If I had known –”, he didn’t finish his sentence. After all it wasn’t like he could change it.  
“I know”, Ace smiled. “I know you never would have simply left Luffy and me. That was why I was so confused when I saw you. And why I got so angry, when you simply wanted to leave. _Again_ ”.  
And it was only then, Sabo understood how Ace must have felt, when Sabo had just thanked him and started to leave. He felt awful. He had deserved more than just one punch.  
And now he wasn’t sure if he wanted to leave. Part of him wanted to get to know his brother again. But Koala was waiting for him.  
“I’m really sorry. For how I acted, for what I did and that I forgot. But I still have to leave”, Sabo explained apologetic. “People are waiting for me”.  
He started to stand up. A hand on his left should pushed him down again. Sabo tried to push against Ace, tried to push his hand away, but Sabo was still too weak and moving his right arm still hurt too much.  
“I already told you, I’m not going to let you leave, until you’re healed. You might not remember me, but you’re still my brother, whom I thought to be dead until yesterday. I’m not going to let you get yourself killed, _again_ ”.  
“Well, you might not have any other choice, because I’m not a child and can make my own decisions. And right now, I decide to leave”.  
Ace smiled without humour.  
“You can try, but I’ll stop you. Alternatively, you could just tell me, who it is, you’re so desperately to meet, so I can just tell them where you are”.  
The two stared at each other for a while. Then Sabo sighed. He knew he wouldn’t win right now and his stomach told him he could trust Ace. Maybe his stomach still remembered his brother. So, he told Ace where he was meant to meet Koala and roughly described her to him. Ace nodded after Sabo was finished.  
“I’ll get her. You stay here. Don’t even try to run. There are three hundred people on this ship and they will all stop you. And even if you manage to get off it, I will find you, now that I know you are alive”.  
It sounded like a threat. Sabo smiled, unsure of himself. It was nice knowing there were people who cared about him _before_. But it was also unbelievable hard to look at Ace and _not remember_ him.


	2. The Happy Brother

Sabo was just walking through the streets of the little town he was currently in. The weather – which was known to change rather rapidly on this particular island – was quite nice at the moment and Sabo was intend on enjoying it before the next thunderstorm would start. He was in a rather good mood. He and Koala had just finished their last mission and had only made port here to restore their supplies, before they would continue back to their base using their eternal pose. This had been his first mission since he had injured his shoulder – since he had met Ace.   
He still thought quite often about the other man and what he had said. After Ace had went to get Koala, she and Sabo had stayed on the Moby Dick for some days, until Sabo was healed up enough to travel. In that time, he and Ace had talked a lot. They had talked about the lives they had now and what had happened after Sabo’s accident as well as about what happened before – or more likely Ace had told Sabo about their adventures. Sabo had thought most of those stories quite amusing, but it had also hurt to hear of all the things he had done, all the fun he had had and not remember any of it. It had rather felt like he was told stories about some stranger than about his own life.  
When Sabo was finally fit to travel, they had said their goodbyes and Koala and Sabo had been on their way. Sabo knew that it was hard for Ace to let Sabo go, but Sabo was relieved to get away. Ace was a constant reminder of what he lost and on the same time he knew he hurt Ace with not remembering. This way they both could live their lives and move on from a hurtful past. And even though Sabo felt guilty admitting it, he hoped he would not see Ace again any time soon.   
As he took a right turn, the sky started to get clouded. On this island that meant that it would be raining in a few minutes. Since Sabo was hungry anyway, he looked for an inn, where he could eat something, and wait until the rain was over since he didn’t feel like getting wet. He was lucky to find an inn just around the next corner. He hurried inside and just as he let the door close behind him, he heard lightning flashing behind him and rain starting to pour down. Smiling to himself he took of his hat and sat down at an empty table, putting his hat beside him. A waitress came and he asked for some ramen. He had tasted it on his travels and found he loved it, so he ordered it everywhere he could – even though there are not that many places on the grand line where he could.   
The woman smiled at him and explained his order would be right up.   
There were some other people in the room but most stayed to themselves. The only exception was a group of people behind him who were talking quite loudly while howling down food in an exceptional speed, according to the mass of food another waiter than the woman, who had come to his table, had to constantly bring to their table. Sabo didn’t turn around to see who they were and how they managed to eat this much – he could also eat quite a lot and fast but he had to admit even he was impressed, since he remembered seeing they were just three or four people. The topic of their conversation also seemed to revolve around their food and who ate what and how much.  
Sabo was impressed, that, despite the other group howling their food down like savages, his ramen was brought to him only a few minutes later by the waitress, who took his order.  
She smiled as she placed his food in front of him. He thanked her smiling.   
“No problem”, she responded. “I’m just happy I’m not attending the other table, today. Poor Tom is close to having a stroke”.  
Sabo laughed.   
“Well, I will try to be more considerate with the amount I eat”.   
Laughing she let him be.   
Sabo looked outside once, where it was now pouring as strong as he had never seen on any other island. But it would probably clear out soon after he was finished with his meal. The weather always changed fast on this island. There was no day it didn’t rain at least once a day, but there was also no day the sun didn’t shine. Sabo quite liked the rain – if he was inside and could watch it. Living on this island, where you had no way of predicting the weather, Sabo would probably start to hate rain after a short while.   
Sabo duck into his ramen. It tasted quite good. He would have to remember to compliment the chef before he left. While he ate the constant stream of food being brought to the table behind him slowly stopped. Halfway through his own meal he heard satisfied burps. The group really seemed to have no manners at all. When he was nearly finished with his meal someone behind him exclaimed:  
“I know this hat!”  
At the same time a hand – seemingly coming out of nowhere – snatched Sabo’s hat from where he had put it.   
Angrily Sabo turned around. This hat was the only thing, he had left from his life before his accident. Even if he now knew what kind of life he had lived and had met Ace, this hat was still the only thing he could hold onto. Something that was _always_ there. So, he turned around, meaning to shout angrily at whoever took his hat to give it back, when he saw a man with a bright and excited boyish grin on his face and a straw hat on his head. He held the hat in his hands and stared at it in wonder.   
Sabo closed his eyes for a moment. He was sure he knew what would be coming now. This must be Luffy. Sabo wondered if he and Ace had met up in the time between now and Ace’s and Sabo’s meeting. If Luffy already knew about Sabo or if Sabo would have to explain again.   
“It even has that one patched hole that Sabo’s –”  
It was then that Luffy stopped talking and instead looked up from the hat staring at Sabo, now. His eyes were wide and tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. Sabo smiled unsure of himself. He knew a little bit about Luffy from Ace, but he still had no idea how he was to act around him.   
Then two arms shot forward and grabbed Sabo, dragging him from his chair and over the table in front of Luffy, shattering quite a few of the plates on it as they were pushed on the ground. Ace had warned Sabo about Luffy’s rubber arms and his hugs, but Sabo had never thought they would be this extreme. He also made a mental note to apologize for the shattered plates, since he was sure Luffy wouldn’t.  
“Sabo”, Luffy cried out while he hugged Sabo so hard, he could barely breath. His arms wrapped around Sabo like five times, making it impossible for Sabo to do anything but let Luffy hug him. He couldn’t even return the favour and hug Luffy back, because his arms were firmly pressed against his body.   
He had no idea what he was supposed to say. If he was supposed to say anything.   
“Luffy”, a man with green hair interrupted after a while and Sabo was quite thankful for it, “Who is that?”  
After a little bit longer, Luffy finally let go of Sabo, whipping his tears away and grinning from ear to ear.   
“That’s my brother Sabo!”, exclaimed. “I thought he was dead”.   
The other man looked at Sabo.   
“He doesn’t look like your brother”, he said sceptically.   
Luffy only laughed.   
“That’s because we don’t have the same parents. But we’re still brothers, right Sabo?”  
“I think you don’t know what _brother_ means”, the man with green hair said.   
Luffy grinned.   
“Sure I do. We drank sake together, so we’re brothers”.   
Sabo had to laugh a little bit. Luffy really made it seem so easy.   
The other man just shrugged.   
“Whatever. I’m Zoro”, he said at Sabo.  
Sabo nodded.   
“I’m Sabo, like Luffy already mentioned. And, according to Ace und Luffy, I’m their brother”.   
“Ace?”, Zoro asked.   
“My other big brother”, Luffy explained. “He’s already a pirate. Set sails two years before me. Does Ace already know you’re alive?”  
And that was the big difference between the two brothers: Luffy didn’t even seem to care, that Sabo just disappeared for ten years and now suddenly shows up again. He wasn’t angry at all. He didn’t even ask. Sabo couldn’t understand it. Ace’s reaction he had understood but Luffy was a mystery to him.   
“Yeah, I actually met him three months ago”.   
Luffy grinned.   
“And? Does he have a big bounty already?”  
“I think so. He is a pirate in Whitebeard’s crew”.   
Luffy looked at him with surprise.   
“He isn’t captain?”  
Sabo shook his head.   
“Are you a pirate?”, was his next question. Confused Sabo looked at him. What did that have to do with Ace?  
“No”.  
“Great”, Luffy exclaimed. “Then I won’t have to fight any of my brothers to become pirate king”.   
He laughed like it was one of the funniest things in the world.   
“Where have you been all this years?”, Luffy asked. Finally.   
“I was with the revolutionaries”, he explained. “After my boat was blown up, Monkey D. Dragon rescued me and I joined them”.   
“My dad rescued you? Funny”.   
Sabo stared at Luffy. His dad? Dragon was Luffy’s dad? How had he not known this? So, he was apparently brothers with his boss’s son? His life got stranger any day.  
“Dragon is your father?”   
“Sure, but you know that already. Silly Sabo”.  
Luffy laughed again, while Sabo took a deep breath.  
“Actually, I don’t”, he said.  
Luffy stopped laughing. He looked confused.   
“Of course, you do! We talked about our dads, don’t you remember? And even if you forgot, it would not be hard to remember. I’m called Monkey D. Luffy after all. If you had forgotten that Ace’s father was Gol D. Roger, that I could understand”, Luffy rattled.   
Sabo stared at him.  
“Ace’s father is who?!”  
The other two guys at their table – the one with green hair and one with a strange, long nose – also stared at Luffy.  
“Don’t you listen to me? And how could you even forget, after Ace beat us up after mentioning it to him?”  
Sabo shook his head. That was all just too crazy for him. He had the strangest brothers – even if they were not his real brothers.   
“I don’t remember anything that happened before my boat was blown up by the Celestial Dragon”, Sabo finally explained.   
“Oh”, Luffy said. Looking sad. “You don’t remember me?”  
Sabo shook his head.   
“All I know is what Ace told me, after we had a run in and he recognised me. That’s also why I never came back”.   
For a small moment Luffy continued to look sad, then he started grinning again.  
“Well, then we’ll just have to make new memories”, he said, laughing again.  
And before Sabo knew what was happening to him, he was dragged out of the inn by Luffy, Luffy’s companions and a screaming waiter, demanding payment, behind them. It seemed like Sabo would not be able to compliment the chef or apologize for the broken plates after all. He just closed his eyes and let himself be dragged away.   
It seemed fighting his brothers was just no use. At least with Luffy he didn’t feel as guilty as he did with Ace, since Luffy simply didn’t seem to care that Sabo didn’t remember.   
He just hoped, that that was all of his long-lost brothers and Luffy and Ace hadn’t forgotten to mention someone else. Maybe the son of the fleet admiral to complete the collection?

 

Luffy was happy. His face hurt from smiling, but he couldn’t stop. He got Sabo back! He never thought he would ever see his second big brother again, but here he was! And he was fine!   
He might not remember Luffy or his Ace but who cared? He was alive, that was all that mattered to Luffy. Better a living Sabo than a Sabo who remembered. After all, memories were to be made. And if Sabo couldn’t remember the time they had spent together, then Luffy just had to remember for both of them and create new memories Sabo could remember Luffy with. And maybe, if he spent time with Luffy, he might also remember again.


	3. The Lost Brother

Sabo stared at the newspaper article in front of him. It was about Ace. About Ace’s capture and his upcoming execution. Sabo felt strange reading it. He knew he _should_ be furious. He should be already on his way to save Ace – his brother – just like Luffy certainly was. But instead he looked at the paper and felt empty. The anger and the protectiveness, that he knew should be there from Luffy’s and Ace’s stories, was missing and it left a hole in him. What would he feel if Ace died? If he was truthful, probably not that much. He might feel sad because a nice guy, he met some time ago, would’ve died. But that would be it. He wouldn’t be despaired or furious or even that angry. Just a little bit sad.  
And he felt guilty because of it. Because he _knew_ that, if the roles were reversed, if it was Sabo, who was about to be executed, Ace would come for him. He would be burning anger and hot rage and he would stop at absolute _nothing_ to save Sabo from dying – again. And Luffy would come to his rescue, too. Together these brothers – his brothers – would burn the world to the ground to rescue him. And Sabo felt sad at the thought of Ace dying. He spent time thinking, if he could leave to try to rescue him without sabotaging the work of the revolutionaries. Because that was more important to him. He was an awful brother, but it remained the truth. He didn’t really know the other two, except from some stories they told him. And the work he did here was important. He had spent his whole life – or at least the life he remembered – working for this.  
Koala entered the room, interrupting Sabo’s thoughts. She came to stand next to him and looked at the paper in front of him. A sad sigh escaped her lips.  
“I really liked that guy. I hope he survives”.  
Sabo didn’t answer. What was he supposed to say to that?  
“Do you think of going there yourself?”  
He looked up at Koala and she smiled a small smile. She knew him quite well. She was more family to him than either Ace or Luffy. But he was family to them and wasn’t that enough?  
“What difference would it make?”, he asked.  
He wanted her to tell him to stay here. To take his guilt away.  
“It might be just the difference, that is needed. After all you would not be the only one to come to Ace’s rescue”.  
“Do you want me to go?”  
She shrugged.  
“I just don’t want you to regret not going afterwards – if it ends badly – and I think you would”.  
Sabo knew she was right. Even now he already felt so much guilt, it weighted him down. How would he feel if Ace died?  
“Do you think Dragon will allow it?”  
Koala smiled again.  
“I don’t think he will have much of a choice”. Her eyes sparkled with determination. “I think we should start packing”.

When they arrived, the fighting had already started. Luffy was running across the battlefield, making his way to the scaffold. Marines tried to attack and stop him but Whitebeard and his pirates fought them off, leaving Luffy to make his way to Ace. Koala pointed at Luffy.  
“I guess that’s where you’re supposed to be”.  
A grim grin settled on Sabo’s face. Now that he was here, he was going to fight. He was going to destroy everyone, who would try to stop him. He might not feel as passionate about freeing Ace as he should feel, but he would not lose this fight. This way he could at least repay Ace for helping him, when he had acted stupid and let himself be harmed all those months ago. The grip around his staff tightened as he jumped from their little ship, that somehow survived the journey through the battleground up to this point. He started running, Koala at his side. Marines attacked him, when he run in their direction, but their attention was mostly focused on Luffy and the men protecting him.  
That made it easier for Sabo to manoeuvre his way through the battlefield. Still it took some time to advance and it took him much longer than he had hoped for to catch up to Luffy. When he finally reached him, he was already making his way up to the scaffold, using the bridge this weird scissor guy had created.  
“Luffy!”, he called out as he fell into step right next to the pirate, Koala staying behind to fight one of the marines.  
“Sabo!”, he cried in answer. “You’re here, too!”, he grinned. “Let’s go save our big brother”.  
And it was so easy for him. He still didn’t even care, that Sabo couldn’t remember. Sabo was here and that was enough. His words, however, rippled across the battlefield. For a few moments an unnatural silence replaced the screams and shouts, that had been there moments before. Then, there were questions. Confusion aroused as people started shouting, wondering _who_ Sabo was. Who was this third brother? Where did he come from? And the most important one of all: _Whose son was he?_  
He had to stop himself from laughing. The answer would be unexpected unspectacular. But it never came to that. Instead one of the marine soldiers shouted:  
“Isn’t that the chief of staff of the revolutionary army?”  
And with that the question of his parentage was forgotten. He guessed his post in the revolutionary army was spectacular and surprising enough for now to be Ace’s and Luffy’s brother.  
But just this easy the whole world knew, who Sabo was and who his brothers were. With Luffy’s short exclamation the whole world knew about just as much about Sabo’s family – at least the one that counted, his reals parents didn’t count – as he did himself. Luffy and him were halfway up the bridge as an old man, wearing the uniform of a marine vice admiral, blocked their way. Sabo had no idea, who he was, but by his reaction he knew, who Sabo was. The man stared at Sabo quite some time, his eyes wide with shock or surprise, before he spoke.  
“It’s nice to know you’re alive, boy. But now I have to stop you. _You are all criminals!_ ”, the man shouted.  
“Get out of the way, grandpa”, Luffy screamed at him.  
Grandpa, huh? Sabo wondered if this was Luffy’s real grandfather or if he was just as much Luffy’s grandfather as Sabo was his brother. And if he thought of himself as Sabo’s grandfather, too. He certainly seemed to know Sabo. And Ace called him grandpa, too. Sabo guessed the chances were quite good that he, too, had called him grandpa all these years ago.  
“I’ll take care of him”, Sabo shouted to Luffy. “You get Ace”.  
Luffy nodded and – just as Sabo punched the man, he was called Garp by the other marines – jumped over Sabo’s and Garp’s heads. It was surprisingly easy to simply push Garp from the bridge. With just one punch he went down. He didn’t even seem to want to put up a fight. As he fell down Garp smiled at Sabo.  
“Save Ace”, he said in a quiet voice. “And don’t get yourself killed again”.  
Sabo stared after him, surprised for a moment. Then he took off again, following Luffy, who had already freed Ace from his shackles. The bridge collapsed after him. Ace stared at Sabo.  
“I didn’t think you would come”, he said.  
“Of course, he would come”, Luffy exclaimed. “We’re brothers after all”.  
Neither Ace nor Sabo disagreed with Luffy, but they shared a look, both knowing that it hadn’t been this sure Sabo would show up here.  
“Let’s go”, Ace said instead.  
And then the three brothers were rushing off again.  
Now, again, all attention was on them. Every marine on the battlefield had only one goal: The three brothers trying to flee the battlefield. But they were not easy to stop. Ace’s flames blazed around them and Sabo was surprised to see he didn’t fear them at all – ever since his boat had been blown up, he had felt uncomfortable around fire and had always feared being hurt by it again. But this were Ace’s flames and he found he trusted them.  
Somewhere behind them Whitebeard gave the order for his crew to run and they obeyed. Koala joined up with Sabo again and grinned at him, congratulating him without a word for saving his brother – even if he hadn’t really done anything. It was Luffy who had really saved Ace.  
In the end it was Akainu, who brought their great escape to a stop. He taunted Whitebeard and his crew. Calling him a loser and a weakling, until Ace snapped. He stopped to fight the admiral and to protect Whitebeards name. Sabo and Luffy came to a stop behind him. Sabo could only stare at Ace, couldn’t believe how stupid he acted. Had he so much pride, that he would risk his life, would risk all the sacrifices made this day become meaningless, just because one man insulted Whitebeard? Luffy tried to get Ace moving again, but he wouldn’t listen. Instead he attacked. And he got burned. Ace, who was made of fire, got burned. It was unbelievable, it seemed impossible, but it had happened.  
And Sabo stood frozen to the spot, just starring. Fear crept up in him. Memories of pain, unbelievable pain, caused by the fire that had licked at his skin all those years ago, resurfaced. He hadn’t been afraid of Ace’s flames because they belonged to _Ace_ and somewhere deep down he still knew – even if he had forgotten – that this was his brother who would never seriously hurt him. But now Ace, fire itself, had been burned. How could Sabo not be afraid of the man who was able to do such a deed? Koala tried to drag Sabo away, probably realising that there was no way, that there wouldn’t be blood spilt now. The only question was whose.  
And then, it seemed, time slowed down. Luffy fell to his knees, his energy finally leaving him, Akainu saw his weakness and attacked. And Ace was rushing to protect Luffy.  
And as Sabo watched it all happened, something broke free in him. Memories long lost rushed back. He was overwhelmed. He felt so much, all in this one instant, in which he remembered. He felt despair, loneliness but also friendship and love. Complete and utter loyalty to those two men in front of him – Ace and Luffy, his brothers. He knew he would do everything for them. They gave him a life worth living and even though he found another life with the revolutionaries it was those two who gave him hope and a home first. He remembered them playing, fighting, hunting. He understood why he had been drawn to fight using his staff instead of a sword or any other weapon: It had been a close representation of the pipe he had fought with as a kid. And he also understood the meaning of the crossed-out S in Ace’s tattoo. Until now he had thought it to only be a spelling mistake. A really embarrassing, one but a mistake nonetheless. But now he knew Ace had done that for him. To remember him and his dream of being free.  
And as he looked at his brothers, who would give everything for each other and who would give everything for him – even when he didn’t even remember them – Akainu’s magma didn’t seem that frightening anymore. Being burned again – his worst fear – didn’t seem that bad anymore. Far worse was the thought of losing his brothers again. After he had just gotten them back. He couldn’t imagine anymore, how he had been able to live without knowing them. How he had had to think about coming today. He hated himself for that.  
But he would make it up to them. He would save his brothers – both of them.  
It was only one second, in which he remembered it all, and it was only one more second, in which he closed the gap between him and Luffy – Sabo had been much closer than Ace – pushing his younger brother away, just as Ace rushed there to protect Luffy. Using his staff Sabo pulled out Ace’s feet from under him, making him fall right next to where Sabo now stood. Where Luffy had kneeled just a second ago. Sabo had turned sideways to stop Ace, facing him, and, just as Ace fell to the ground, Ace screamed. Sabo heard Koala scream, he heard them all scream. It sounded like he was the centre of an explosion. And then he felt the burn in his back. He screamed as he felt how the scarred skin of his back was melted by heat yet again. Only this time it wasn’t by fire but by magma.  
He closed his eyes and hoped the pain would end soon. And his brothers would make it to safety.  
Sabo didn’t hit the hard ground like he expected. Instead arms caught him and hold him close. Sabo was barely conscious anymore but he opened his eyes to look up at Ace. Tears streamed down his face as he looked at Sabo.  
“Why?”, he asked. Sabo had trouble understanding him, but he wasn’t sure if that was his or Ace’s fault. If Ace didn’t speak clearly, because of his tears, or if Sabo started to drift into unconsciousness and his hearing stopped working properly. Nonetheless he smiled at his brother.  
“I remember”, he told him. He wanted Ace to know. He wanted Luffy to know. They had to know he remembered them in the end. That he hadn’t forgotten them for good. That he didn’t die not knowing them. “I remember everything”.  
Everything went black. 

Ace sat on the floor in the submarine they had escaped. His head was rested against the wall behind him. He waited. He stared at the door in front of him, willing it to open. He waited for it, waiting for any change. Both his brothers were in there. He wanted to tear the door down and see how they were doing, but he couldn’t do that. Because Trafalgar was in there operating on Sabo, trying to save his life. And if Ace would interrupt he might as well be the reason Sabo died in the end. And he couldn’t die. He just couldn’t. Because Ace was the reason Sabo was in there. If he died now, it would be Ace’s fault. And he would not know how to keep going after that.  
In front of his eyes he saw time and time again, how Akainu had hit Sabo. Had hit him, because Ace had let himself be provoked, getting both his brothers in danger. And he also remembered, how Sabo had looked at him – smiling despite of everything – and told him that he remembered. That he finally remembered Ace and Luffy. What irony it would be if he remembered just in time to die.  
If this was the price for Sabo to remember, Ace wished he hadn’t remembered. Because he knew, knew deep in his bones, that Sabo wouldn’t have sacrificed himself, if he hadn’t remembered. Ace and Luffy wouldn’t have been much more than strangers to him. It had already been a surprise Sabo had come at all – maybe even to Sabo himself – but he never would have sacrificed himself. Not for some strangers, he didn’t really know. Even if they knew him.  
Ace punched the floor beneath him. A wood board cracked but he didn’t care. He just wanted his brothers to be okay. Luffy was in there, too. Maybe not fighting for his life, but still pretty beaten up from his rescue mission. Ivankov had told Ace how Luffy had sacrificed years of his own life to save Ace. Why would they do that? Why would both of them give so much to save him? Didn’t they realise they were both worth so much more than him?  
Sabo’s friend, Koala, was also somewhere on this ship. She had come to him some time ago and told him it wasn’t his fault – how could she even say that? She was going to lose a friend because of him after all – but had left when she realised he wouldn’t listen to her.  
Ace wanted to release his flames. Wanted to burn everything around him down, until he would pass out from exhaustion, but he couldn’t do that. He would only burn down the ship and kill his brothers.  
It seemed like days went by in which Ace didn’t talk, didn’t move and didn’t eat or drink, until – finally – Trafalgar emerged from his operating room. Ace was on his feet in one second, even though he nearly fell down again as soon as he stood, only feeling now how exhausted he was. He stared at Trafalgar, waiting for an answer to his unspoken question. Trafalgar showed no emotion whatsoever. He just looked at him, seeming bored.  
“He has a chance. If he fights strongly enough he might just survive”.  
Than he left, leaving the door open.  
Ace rushed in, having to see his brothers for himself. He looked at Luffy, who seemed peaceful, in a deep sleep. He smiled. Luffy would survive. And then Ace could scold him for sacrificing lifetime to save Ace. Even though he knew Luffy wouldn’t care. Not if Ace was alive. Sabo, on the other hand, didn’t look peaceful at all. His face was twisted in pain and he whimpered in his sleep. Sweat glistened on his forehead. Ace stared at him, willing him to keep fighting. He just couldn’t die.  
And he wouldn’t.  
Because Trafalgar had said Sabo would live if he fought hard enough. And if Sabo did one thing like no other, it was fighting for his life. He already survived once, when nobody had even dared to hope. He could do it again.


End file.
